Urban Exploration of The Booze Underground in Japan

Tag Archives: tachinomiya

Visited Tanakaman Saketen (田中萬酒店） in Nishinakajima Minamigata last month. The mama has been running it for 55 years. She said I was the first foreigner to set foot in the place, but her son corrected her: There was a drunken NOVA teacher who stumbled in back in the 90s. Get off at Exit #2. Cross the street to Hotel Consort and walk down three blocks until you come to an overpass. It’s on the right. Check out the dried fugu (poison blow fish) hanging on the wall. Cheap drinks, delicious homemade food and friendly regulars. 田中萬酒店 （西中島南方) TEL 06-6301-4164
大阪府大阪市淀川区西中島1-14-2. Osaka shi Yodogawa ku Nishi Nakajima 1-14-2
営業時間 Open Monday to Saturday* (closed some Saturdays when the mama doesn’t feel like working) 18:00～22:30頃 定休日 Closed Sundays. 日祝日Closed Holidays.

Had the best yakiniku meal at SUSUMU in Temmabashi. The first place I’ve been to that serves LAMBCHOP (¥500) in Japan. Everything was delicious. I also enjoyed YEBISU CREAMY TOP on tap. Good beer. While I was there two young ladies from Singapore came in and asked if I could read Japanese. So I ended up ordering for them. They left and a couple from Indonesia came in. The man asked me the same question so I ordered for them too. I think I have disproved that (funny) Tanaka Ken viral video “But we’re speaking Japanese!”twice in less than 45 minutes. Susumu is highly recommended. You can try a variety of dishes for around 300 yen. The rosu and bara are a must. About five minutes from JR Temmabashi. 天神橋5-6-22 丸山マンション 1F (Tenjinbashi 5-6-33 Maruyama Mansion 1F) Open 17:00-24:00.

I went to 酒の穴 Sake no Ana (booze hole) in Shinsekai. It’s located in a narrow street to the right of JUMBO pachinko. (You’ll see tourists lining up to go to the smaller Daruma). I thought the kushi katsu at Sake no Ana was much better than more famous places like Tengu and Daruma. Unlike the touristy places , there’s no line to get in. The kushi katsu is 80-100 yen and yakitori is 100 yen. They also serve okonomiyaki, oden and many other dishes. I had a daibin, 4 kushikatsu and 2 yakitori and the bill was less than 1,000 yen. Great dive bar atmosphere with a lot of regular customers. There are two locations side by side. The other location specializes in okonomiyaki (closed Thurs). Open 10:00 to 9:00 PM (closed Tues). 大阪市浪速区恵美須東2-4-21 Ebisucho Higashi 2-4-21.

Kakuuchi （角打ち）A combined liquor store and bar that sells canned and simple bar food. You usually can take cans and bottles of out of the refrigerator and drink them at the bar. Whiskey and sake is served at the counter.

Izakaya (居酒屋）- a pub with tapas like dishes

Yatai (やたい) An outdoor stand.

Part I: Bottle Sizes

The most important kanji you need to know for tachinomi: 瓶 Bin (bottle). The largest size is 大瓶(daibin). They are usually 633ml but some are 643ml. The middle size is 中瓶(chubin), which is 500ml. The smallest size is 小瓶(kobin), which is 334ml. If you see this on the menu 大瓶600円 then get the hell out of there. A true tachinomi jedi will pay no more than 500 yen for a daibin. Anything under 400 yen is a great deal.

Part Ii: Snacks and Side Dishes

1. tsumami つまみ is the term snacks or side dishes that go well with alcohol. Anything from peanuts and edamame to yakitori and sausages. The term ”ate” from (“sake no ate” 酒のあて) is more commonly used in Kansai.

2. The small appetizer dishes are served with your drinks are called “otooshi” (お通し) or “tsukidashi” (突き出し) Some nomiya make you pay 200 to 500 yen for tsukidashi as a cover/table charge but this practice is not common in cheap tachinomiya. You cannot avoid the charge by refusing the dish, but it is cheaper than leaving a tip.

3. Another great term is “sakana” (肴) which can refer to a side dish of food and/or shit talking while drinking. Badmouthing someone or gossiping in order to take the drinking session to the next level.

Example sentence: 彼らは上司の悪口を肴にして酒を飲んだ. They badmouthed their boss to give added zest to their drinking.

Part III: Shochu

Another good kanji to know: 焼酎 shochu. I’m no shochu expert and there are several good sites on the web in English. Oyuwari shochu (お湯割り焼酎), shochu and hot water, is a tachinomiya standard that usally sells for 180 to 300 yen a glass. You can get it wih ume or lemon (I prefer lemon). It will warm you up in the winter and make you feel (slightly) better if you have a cold. I like it because whenever I order one at a new place, the master and customers are usually surprised (in a good way). It helps to break the ice in a crowded nomiya full of regulars. You usually have a choice between barley (mugi), sweet potatoes (imo), buckwheat (soba), or rice (kome).

Part IV: Harigami

A good tachinomiya will have lots of old faded paper harigami (張り紙 or 貼り紙) on the wall with the names of dishes and prices. This place has the “permanent menu”/harigami combo with the all important tape overs. Old tape on the harigami is another good sign. I’m not sure if there is a special word for the permanent menu on the wall.

Part V: Taishu Sakeba

Kanji of the day: 大衆酒場 (taishuu sakaba): a cheap drinking spot, a saloon, a pub. For the record, I have never heard anyone say “taishuu sakaba” once in 20 years of living in Osaka (Or maybe they did say it and I had no idea what they meant. Shows how much I know). The kanji 大衆酒場 is found on the signs and noren of many tachinomiya and cheap bars. Here it is on the awning of Heihachi in Juso (which burned down in a fire).

Part VI: Under The Tracks

Two more important terms: ガード下 (gaado shita) “under the tracks; area under the girders of a railway or highway (often used for shops, bars, etc.)” and 高架下(koukashita) “under a girder bridge；under the elevated structure”. This is where you can find many cheap tachinomiyas and dive bars such as Ibata in Juso and Ikoi in Nakatsu. (Tokyo has Yurakucho). Kobe has 地獄の谷 Jigoku no Tani (Hell Valley–not be confused with the one near Noda Station in Osaka). It’s located near the West Exit of JR Kobe Station.

The Society of Girder(ガード下の学会) is a club led by Kobayashi Ichiro that explores areas under the tracks. They’ve published several books and articles (including an extensive guide to Osaka that can be downloaded on PDF. If you think that the group is made up of trainspotters, otaku and middle aged ossan, guess again. Most of the participants who joined the Girders tour of Umeda and Nakatsu last November were young women. A PDF of the Osaka tour can also be downloaded under the heading of 関西ガード下ツアーが紹介されました http://www.underguard.org/

Located across the street from Bic Camera. Cross the Sennichimae and walk into the shotengai. Turn right at the takoyaki restaurant with the red awning . Marufuku is the third restaurant down. The master is a very friendly guy from the Philippines who has lived in Osaka for 30 years. Marufuku specializes in cheap meat dishes for ¥160 to ¥350 (you don’t have to like horumon to enjoy them). I recommend the tontoro (fatty meat around the cheek and the neck ¥250) hanasuji (snout ¥250), kobukuro (uterus..so that’s what I ate ¥250), rosu (sirloin, ¥300). Be sure to try the special sauce on the counter. Beer: namachu is ¥350 and a daibin or Kirin or Asahi is ¥390 (now ¥440). Be sure to try Kobe Cup Sake for ¥250. Glass bottles of Pepsi are ¥120. Ask the master about the ¥800 beer and 2 meat special. He speaks English fluently. Open from 4PM to 5AM weekdays. 1PM to 5AM weekends and holidays.
難波マルフク
住 所：大阪市中央区千日前1-9-19 (Sennichimae 1-9-19)